- UN Says World Will Miss Its Climate Target, Warming Must Be Reversed
Source: New York Times
“The world has failed in its [sic] goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial times, the United Nations said on Wednesday, in a sober assessment that laid out a new goal for fighting climate change that would set the world on an uncertain path. A decade ago, most of the world’s countries agreed in Paris to try to limit global temperature rise to ‘well below’ two degrees Celsius while aiming for the more ambitious target of 1.5 degrees Celsius, or 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit. But Wednesday’s 141-page U.N. report warned that the world is certain to breach that mark and should focus on finding ways to limit ‘overshoot’ and eventually bring global temperatures back down.” (09/03/26)
- Brazil: Regime considers reciprocal measures after EU halts imports of Brazilian goods
Source: Seattle Times
“Brazil’s government and exporters of meat, poultry, eggs, honey and other animal products were scrambling Thursday after a European Union deadline passed, triggering a suspension of imports over concerns about the use of antibiotics and antimicrobial drugs in livestock. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s agriculture ministry said Thursday that it would consider reciprocal measures if a satisfactory solution is not reached. … The EU announced the suspension Tuesday, to become effective two days later. Brazil, the world’s largest beef exporter, shipped about 108,000 tons of beef worth about $1 billion to the EU in 2025, according to government figures. The bloc announced in May that Brazil would be removed from its list of countries authorized to export certain animal products to the bloc, arguing that Brazil had failed to provide sufficient guarantees that its livestock production meet EU standards against antibiotic growth promoters and other restricted drugs.” (09/03/26)
- Spain: Sánchez struggles to answer lawmakers about Ceuta border crisis
Source: SFGate
“A day after tens of thousands of Spaniards protested the government’s handling of the Ceuta border crisis, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez struggled to field lawmakers’ questions about the matter, including what role Morocco played in the deadly mass crossing in July. Five weeks after the incident, it remains unclear how 72,000 people were able to stream across the border shared by the Spanish exclave in North Africa and Morocco in the first place. While rejecting suggestions that Moroccan authorities helped orchestrate the incident, Sánchez said Moroccan police ‘allowed the border to be crossed’. Sánchez said his government would release key reports about the border breach, but did not say when they would be made public or what they would entail. He also elevated the official death toll from the event to 141 people, up significantly from the most-recent estimate of a total 96 in Spain and Morocco, provided by authorities in Ceuta and Morocco’s National Human Rights Council.” (09/03/26)
- Judge blocks Trump’s latest attempt to repeal 14th Amendment by executive order
Source: Politico
“A federal judge has blocked one of President Donald Trump’s latest attempts to limit birthright citizenship. U.S. District Judge Deborah Boardman issued a preliminary injunction Wednesday barring enforcement of provisions in an executive order Trump signed last month seeking to deny citizenship to children born on U.S. soil to foreign parents who came in a ‘commercial transaction’ to gain citizenship or whose parents are ‘alien enemies.’ Boardman said Trump’s new order defies the Supreme Court’s ruling in June striking down the key provisions of a more sweeping directive he issued on his first day in office that sought to end birthright citizenship for children born to foreigners not in the U.S. legally [sic] or in the country on limited-duration visas.” (09/02/26)
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/09/02/birthright-citizenship-order-ruling
- ICE gang member fedrally charged with lying over shooting
Source: CNN
“An Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent has been federally charged with lying about the events leading up to his shooting of a Venezuelan immigrant in the leg earlier this year, according to multiple people familiar with the matter. The charges against ICE officer Christian Castro are not yet publicly available, but a person familiar with the matter told CNN that he is facing several counts of making false statements. This is the first time the Justice Department has charged an officer for conduct that occurred on-duty during highly publicized immigration operations nationwide. Local prosecutors in Minnesota had already charged Castro with second-degree assault and making a false report earlier this year.” (09/03/26)
https://www.cnn.com/2026/09/03/politics/ice-officer-christian-castro-federal-charges
- Norwegian pirates steal Russian ship in Arctic over Crimea compensation claim
Source: Al Jazeera [Qatari state media]
“Norway has seized a Russian ship in the Arctic to enforce a compensation claim by Ukrainian energy firm Naftogaz, linked to Russian asset seizures in Crimea. Norway seized the ship on Wednesday, after Moscow failed to pay Naftogaz $4.22bn plus interest and legal costs to compensate for assets it seized in Crimea after a tribunal ruling at The Hague in 2023. … The vessel, the Professor Molchanov, was taken off the Norwegian Arctic archipelago of Svalbard after a 24-hour standoff with the Norwegian Coast Guard, according to Covington, the US law firm representing Naftogaz.” (09/003/26)
- British police try to track down theft of 70,000 pints worth of Guinness stout
Source: SFGate
“British police have a stout task ahead: recovering 70,000 pints worth of stolen Guinness. Two trailer truckloads of the famously creamy dark beer valued at 115,000 pounds ($155,000) were stolen from a depot near Liverpool in northwest England, the Cheshire Constabulary said Thursday. ‘It is famously said that ‘Guinness is good for you,’ but that is only the case when it has been bought and paid for,’ Det. Sgt. Gary McClatchy said. ‘We will settle for nothing less than the full recovery of all the items stolen.’ The Guinness had been destined for pubs, but was snatched Monday night by two drivers who pulled up to an industrial park in Runcorn and hauled away the trailers containing about 800 barrels of stout. The value of the trailers was estimated at 50,000 pounds ($67,000).” (09/03/26)
- Pentagon makes testosterone screening mandatory for US service members effective immediately
Source: CBC News [Canadian state media]
“The U.S. Pentagon issued detailed guidance on Wednesday for a new, mandatory testosterone deficiency screening policy for active-duty and reserve service members age 30 and older, a follow-up to a July announcement from U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth. The guidance, which is effective immediately, establishes standardized screening and treatment pathways for men and women that the Pentagon says are aimed at improving military readiness by identifying and managing hormonal and energy-availability issues. Hegseth, who has promoted the use of testosterone, announced the mandate last month, raising questions among experts about whether there was a scientific basis for such a policy. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration plans to hold a meeting of experts to discuss medical use of testosterone in mid-September.” (09/02/26)
https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/testosterone-testing-us-military-9.7330202
- Iranian missiles, drones strike Kuwait
Source: Associated Press
“Iran fired at Kuwait Thursday, continuing its retaliation for U.S. bombardments earlier in the week. Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is trying to unite Israel’s right wing before elections this October. … Sirens sounded in Kuwait early Thursday, where air defenses intercepted missile and drone attacks during a ‘blatant Iranian aggression,’ the country’s Ministry of Defense said on X. It came after U.S. allies Bahrain and Jordan said their air defense systems intercepted several Iranian air attacks Wednesday.” (09/03/26)
- US House rejects GOP constitutional amendment to limit SCOTUS to nine justices
Source: CBS News
“A Republican-proposed constitutional amendment to limit the Supreme Court to nine justices failed in the House on Wednesday, coming up well short of the two-thirds majority support needed for adoption. The House voted 212 to 206 on a joint resolution to approve the amendment, which was proposed by GOP Rep. Andy Biggs of Arizona. The amendment would require that ‘the Supreme Court of the United States shall be composed of nine justices consisting of one chief justice and eight associate justices.’ … Amending the Constitution requires a two-thirds majority vote in both the House and Senate and then ratification by three-fourths of the states. It’s the latest vote this week that Republicans are using to target the positions of the Democratic Socialists of America as several candidates who embrace its positions are poised to become members of Congress next year. On Tuesday, the House adopted a resolution condemning socialism ‘in all its forms.'” (09/03/26)
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/house-supreme-court-constitutional-amendment-vote/
- Putin floats “chance” at peace with Ukraine as NATO chief warns Russia is becoming “increasingly reckless”
Source: CNBC
“Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested Thursday that there is a ‘chance’ at ‘peace’ with Ukraine, but said Kyiv’s warnings to airlines to avoid Russian airspace amounted to ‘state terrorism.’ ‘Ultimately…the problem must be resolved by the countries involved in the conflict – Russia and Ukraine,’ he said in translated remarks at the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, a city in Eastern Russia. ‘Is there a chance [at peace]? In my view, yes, there is.’ It comes after NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on Wednesday said Russia is becoming ‘increasingly reckless,’ citing missiles and drones crossing Europe’s eastern flank, and an alleged Russian hybrid attack at Germany’s Leipzig airport last month.” (09/03/26)
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/09/03/putin-peace-russia-ukraine-nato-defense.html
- China’s Xi seeks trade routes in Egypt, Central Asia to bypass tariffs and Western rules
Source: South China Morning Post [Hong Kong]
“President Xi Jinping’s journey from Central Asia to Egypt highlights Beijing’s efforts to strengthen alternative trade, energy and manufacturing networks across Eurasia and Africa, analysts said, as wars and tariffs expose a reliance on vulnerable supply routes and overseas markets. … According to a joint statement issued by China and Egypt on Thursday, the two sides will explore cooperation in renewable energy, data centres, semiconductors and space applications, as well as critical-mineral supply chains, agriculture and car manufacturing. The two countries also welcomed the renewal and potential expansion of their bilateral currency-swap agreement and called for greater use of the yuan and Egyptian pound in trade and investment settlements.” (09/03/26)
- Patagonia sues Trump over slashing of protected areas in Utah
Source: The Guardian [UK]
“Patagonia, the outdoor clothing and gear company, has joined a lawsuit challenging Donald Trump’s decision to significantly reduce the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments in Utah, removing protections from nearly 3m acres. In July, the president approved the reduction of the sites by 90%, clearing the way to open the land to oil and gas companies. … The retailer announced on Wednesday it was joining a lawsuit to put a stop to what it described as illegal orders that ‘betray Tribal sovereignty’. … The Natural Resources Defense Council, which filed the federal lawsuit on Wednesday along with several other conservation groups, described Trump’s proclamations as ‘one of the largest rollbacks of public land protections in US history’.” (09/02/26)
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/sep/02/trump-patagonia-lawsuit-utah-national-monuments
- US Mint officially launches $1 coin featuring senile reality TV star
Source: The Hill
“The United States Mint released 250,000 $1 coins Wednesday featuring President Trump’s likeness to commemorate the nation’s 250th anniversary. … The coin was greenlighted in March after controversy arose stemming from a federal law that previously prohibited living people from being depicted on U.S. currency. But a law Trump signed during his first term — called the Circulating Collectible Coin Redesign Act of 2020 — included new language regarding the semiquincentennial commemoration coins. The Trump administration also told Newsweek it does not need congressional approval for the coin — citing a history of coins with the likeness of the sitting president such as a 150th anniversary coin with former President Calvin Coolidge as one example in a legal filing.” (09/02/26)
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/6066247-us-mint-releases-trump-coins/
- Hong Kong: Political prisoner pleads guilty to “collusion with foreign entities”
Source: Reuters
“Prominent Hong Kong democracy activist Joshua Wong pleaded guilty on Wednesday to a charge of collusion with foreign entities, a national security [sic] crime [sic] that carries a maximum sentence of life in prison. Wong, 29, rose to international prominence as a teenage democracy activist in Hong Kong, one of a group of youngsters whose protest efforts have now effectively been outlawed by a sweeping National Security [sic] Law that Beijing imposed on the Asian financial hub in 2020. … Wong is already in jail serving an existing sentence on an earlier national security [sic] charge of conspiracy to commit subversion after he was among a group of democratic activists who participated in an unofficial primary election in 2020. His current sentence is scheduled to end in January next year.” (09/02/26)
- In major global restructuring, Uber to cut over 3,000 jobs
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
“Uber is cutting more than 3,000 jobs worldwide as part of a major overhaul designed to shrink management layers and refocus spending on its core business. The cuts amount to roughly 10% of its global workforce, bringing staffing back to levels last seen in 2021. Chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi told staff in a company email that the taxi and delivery firm had expanded quickly but accumulated too many layers and small teams that slowed decision‑making. He said the reductions would put Uber, which has its global head office in San Francisco, US, in a better position for its ‘biggest opportunities ahead of us’. The move marks one of Uber’s largest restructurings in years and signals a shift towards a leaner operating model. ” (09/02/26)
- Altria Sues FDA Over Tobacco Product Review System
Source: US News & World Report
“Marlboro-maker Altria on Wednesday sued the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, seeking to force the agency to overhaul a product review process that tobacco companies say has stifled their growth in the key U.S. market, a legal filing showed. Under U.S. law, the FDA must review new tobacco products before they can be sold, assessing whether they provide a net public health benefit, such as helping smokers quit. But the system has been plagued by a huge backlog of applications and a booming illegal market of products sold without FDA authorisation. Altria’s lawsuit marks the latest industry challenge to a regime that has become one of the biggest obstacles facing tobacco companies in the $22 billion U.S. market. It follows an extensive lobbying campaign targeting President Donald Trump.” (09/02/26)
- NYC: Government day prison system bans AI for younger inmates
Source: ABC 7 Eyewitness News
“Nearly 600,000 New York City public school students will be barred from using artificial intelligence in the classroom and face strict new limits on screen time under a sweeping technology policy Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Schools Chancellor Kamar Samuels are expected to unveil Wednesday. The policy, believed to be the most restrictive of its kind in the nation, would prohibit generative AI tools, including chatbots, AI tutors and instructional programs, for all students through eighth grade. Only high school students would be permitted to use AI, and even then under what officials describe as ‘restricted’ access rules.” (09/02/26)
https://abc7ny.com/post/new-york-city-public-schools-banning-ai-use-middle-school-year/19778716/
- In “crisis preparedness” move, Netherlands moves billions in gold to London
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
“The Dutch central bank (DNB) has confirmed that billions of dollars in gold has been taken out of north America and relocated to London, citing ‘increasing geopolitical unrest’. DNB said on Wednesday that 86 tonnes of gold had been removed from the US and Canada in a complex operation that took several months. It is now being held by the Bank of England, where the precious metal can be traded more easily ‘in a crisis situation’. Bank president Olaf Sleijpen said the move was ‘necessary to strengthen our resilience and preparedness’. The decision comes amid an ongoing trade dispute between the US and Canada, with both countries announcing fresh tariffs on each other after failed trade talks.” (09/02/26)
- Germany: Explosion near train station injures two
Source: CBC News [Canadian state media]
“An explosion near a German train station followed by the discovery of a suspicious object caused police to temporarily close the transport hub in the southern city of Augsburg on Wednesday morning. Later in the morning, police said the suspicious object had been identified as harmless and that the train station was reopened again at 10 a.m. and trains starting running again. … An unidentified object exploded in a passageway near the station at around 3:15 a.m. local time, according to officials, causing minor injuries to two people. The people injured were a 17-year-old girl and an 18-year-old man, both of whom are Ukrainian citizens, the German news agency dpa reported.” (09/02/26)
https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/explosion-germany-train-station-9.7329026
- Teen-safety settlement is Meta’s shrewd move to hurt competitors
Source: Los Angeles Times
by Ian Ayres“The headlines this week wrote themselves: Meta, humbled at last, agrees to pay up to $17.1 billion and accept the strictest limits ever imposed on teenage social media use. A combined two-hour daily cap across Instagram and Facebook. A midnight-to-6 a.m. blackout. Age assurance. Attorneys general from 47 states, the District of Columbia, and three territories took a victory lap. But amid all this, Meta’s stock went up. Wall Street understood something the headlines missed. Meta did not simply buy peace. It bought a government-backed campaign to press the same restraints on its rivals — restraints that, by design, might cost rivals far more than they cost Meta, thus serving Meta’s interests.” (09/03/26)
- What the Flock? Exposing Big Tech’s Surveillance State
Source: Common Dreams
by Tim Karr“For many, Labor Day signifies a time of transition, the end of summer and the return to business as usual, whether it be school or work. But the holiday weekend was born out of a more radical past, and at a place charged with a history of protest and free expression. On September 5, 1882, more than 10,000 workers sacrificed a day’s pay to march on Union Square and demand an eight-hour workday and an end to child labor. The success of their protest paved the way for Labor Day to become a federal holiday in 1894. Initially a gated garden enclave for New York’s wealthiest, architects Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux redesigned Union Square in 1872 as an open plaza for public assembly and patriotic demonstration. By the beginning of the 20th century, Union Square became the epicenter of radical American politics, a setting for protests by anarchists and socialists.” (09/03/26)
https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/flock-big-tech-surveillance
- Imperialist Delusions and the Price of Fuel
Source: Paul Krugman
by Paul Krugman“During the 2024 campaign Donald Trump promised to cut energy prices in half. He has, instead, presided over soaring prices at the pump, which have played an important role in his collapse in the polls. Some might attribute this disaster to Trump’s decision to go to war with Iran, ignoring what appear to have been near-unanimous warnings by experienced military and intelligence officials that such a war would, in addition to disrupting oil supplies, overstretch the U.S. military and dangerously deplete stocks of munitions — which is exactly what happened. But Scott Bessent, Trump’s Treasury secretary, has found someone else to blame: Ukraine.” (09/03/26)
https://paulkrugman.substack.com/p/imperialist-delusions-and-the-price
- Admissions Standards Ration Scarce Resources
Source: The Daily Economy
by Art Carden“Mismatching students and institutions can hurt the very students such policies intend to help — while squandering scarce faculty talent on remedial math.” (09/02/26)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/admissions-standards-ration-scarce-resources/
- Iran is no Vietnam, but Trump is mimicking Lyndon Johnson’s failed approach
Source: The Hill
by Mark Toth & Jonathan Sweet“President Trump and his national security team are heading back to the future in Vietnam. No, we do not mean April 29, 1975, when the U.S. chaotically evacuated Saigon. Nor are we referring to the quagmire the Vietnam war had become by then. Rather, we refer to Operation Rolling Thunder, which began in March 1965 and ended just after Halloween in 1968. The U.S. military’s limited aerial campaign was intended to coerce the North Vietnamese to the negotiating table. Instead, over time, it began planting the seeds that resulted in Hanoi’s victory over South Vietnam ten years later. Today, Team Trump is attempting to wield a similar failed strategy in Iran.” (09/03/26)
https://thehill.com/opinion/national-security/6066434-avoiding-vietnam-mistake-iran-conflict/
- Israel Faces Toxic Blowback From Its Genocide in Gaza
Source: Antiwar.com
by Andy Worthington“Dr. [Dianne] Woodward noted that, earlier this month, the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and representatives of the Board of Peace established under Donald Trump to, ostensibly, oversee a new Palestinian-led administration in Gaza, ‘agreed to set up a working group on sanitation and public health affecting both Israel and Gaza’, although its ‘membership and detailed operating structure’ have not been made public. … Dr. Woodward also noted how, ironically, while trying to erase evidence of its genocide, Israel was importing from Gaza, ‘into undisclosed locations inside Israel and the West Bank’, some of ‘the estimated 60 million tonnes of rubble from Gaza’, without seeming to be aware that, in doing so, it is ‘potentially transferring the pollutants in that rubble directly to disposal or storage sites’ that will also affect the public health of Israelis.” (09/03/26)
- Government Welfare Makes Things Worse: Benjamin Franklin’s Forgotten Warning
Source: Tenth Amendment Center
by Michael Boldin“‘Charity is no part of the legislative duty of the government.’ That was James Madison, explaining that the modern federal welfare state is not authorized by the Constitution. Despite that, politicians today still insist that these programs aren’t just authorized, they’re also absolutely necessary to help people. But they ignore the fatal trap that Benjamin Franklin uncovered over 250 years ago: his long-forgotten warning that government welfare makes things worse.” (09/02/26)
- The Trump Administration’s Difficult Relationship with the Truth
Source: Independent Institute
by Caleb Petitt“As a social science, economics is meant to be apolitical. Research is meant to find out truths about the world we live in, particularly when it comes to markets. Government organizations such as the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), Council of Economic Advisers (CEA), Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), Census Bureau, and Federal Reserve all play a role in collecting, organizing, and analyzing data on the country’s economic well-being. The Trump administration seems determined to chip away at their independence and weigh in on their analysis. Last year, President Trump fired Dr. Erika McEntarfer, the commissioner of the BLS, because he was displeased with a routine correction to a jobs number estimate. He has also tried to limit the Federal Reserve’s independence through executive orders, threatened to fire former Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, and repeatedly attempted to remove Dr. Lisa Cook as a Federal Reserve board member.” (09/02/26)
https://www.independent.org/article/2026/09/02/trump-administration-relationship-truth/
- The Elephant in the Canadian Room
Source: American Greatness
by Victor Davis Hanson“At first glance, the current American-Canadian trade ‘war’ is absurd. We are neighbors with a long history of close friendship, speak the same language (for the most part), and spring from the same British civilization. Nearly one million Canadians reside in the United States. Given the two countries’ natural affinities, Canadians are nearly indistinguishable from Americans. Both sides have reasonable grievances over trade policy. Americans don’t like Canada’s perennial trade surpluses of more than $50 billion in a supposedly free-trade zone. They resent the fact that non-free-market China exports subsidized cheap steel and aluminum through Canada, giving Canadian auto and truck exports a price advantage. The United States also objects to Canada imposing a surcharge on American digital media companies to subsidize Canadian Indigenous and French-language content.” (09/03/26)
https://amgreatness.com/2026/09/03/the-elephant-in-the-canadian-room/
- Trump Hands Dems Their Best Gift Yet
Source: The Bulwark
by Lauren Egan“For months, Democrats running in competitive races have taken note of the widespread and growing public backlash to data centers and have begun elevating their opposition to them in campaign settings. Given the public perception that data centers are responsible for rising utility costs, Democrats have tied the proliferation of those facilities to the party’s overarching midterm theme of affordability, and they’ve blamed Republican incumbents for courting them. … in the past few weeks, Republican officials have seemingly started to wake up to the fact that their party is on the wrong political side of the issue. … All that, however, was before Trump’s Truth Social post Monday morning.” (09/02/26)
- Libertarians and Political Action
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Hamoon Soleimani“For most of the twentieth century, the trouble with libertarianism was never its ideas, it was its posture. Theorists stood outside the arena with folded arms, waiting for voters to reason their way to liberty, treating political philosophy as a kind of religion of non-participation. That turned one of the sharpest critiques of state power into a seminar-room parlor trick. While purists argued over who would pave the roads without a transportation ministry, the people who actually wanted power simply took it, grabbing the money, locking down capital, and dictating the granular details of everyday life. Surviving runaway state intervention means dropping the fantasy of keeping your hands clean, and giving up on a mass awakening that is never going to arrive.” (09/02/26)
https://mises.org/mises-wire/libertarians-and-political-action
- Vigilante? No, showing love
Source: The Price of Liberty
by Nathan Barton“No one in their right mind wants to actually kill someone. But sometimes, that is the only sane choice. A choice to take lethal action, defensively, to end the ability of the shooter to harm (more) people. Some would claim that this is a ‘civic duty’ or negatively, ‘taking justice into your own hands.’ That is often labeled as being a vigilante. We at TPOL believe it to be an act of love.” (09/02/26)
https://thepriceofliberty.org/2026/09/02/vigilante-no-showing-love/
- Despite all of the rage, evidence doesn’t point to a genocide in Gaza
Source: New York Post
by David Harsanyi“In May 2025, Tom Fletcher, the United Nations under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs, went on BBC Radio and told the audience that 14,000 babies in Gaza were going to die ‘in the next 48 hours unless we can reach them’. Two days. Fourteen thousand babies. According to UNICEF, there are around 20,000 babies in the entirety of Gaza. Which means 70% of all infants were in danger of dying in mere hours. An ‘utterly chilling’ figure, Fletcher stressed. The New York Times, along with numerous other establishment media outlets, relayed Fletcher’s allegation to its credulous audience without any skepticism. The usual experts were summoned to discuss this unfolding famine on cable news. And the antisemites across social media amplified the claim. No matter how far-fetched a story is about Israel, including preposterous evidence-free accusations that it trains dogs to rape Palestinians, papers such as The New York Times will spread it to feed the perception that the Jewish state operates as a genocidal entity.” (09/02/26)
- In Hong Kong, remembering the past is now a crime
Source: spiked
by Chloe Lo“The lies are all aligned now. For 37 years, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has tried to erase the truth of what happened on 4 June 1989. Hundreds, possibly thousands, of peaceful protesters were massacred by the military in Tiananmen Square. Since then, the CCP has censored what happened and silenced those who refuse to forget. Hong Kong used to be different. For more than three decades, we gathered peacefully every year in Victoria Park. We lit candles, remembered those who died and called for accountability. It was one of the freedoms that separated Hong Kong from mainland China. That freedom is now gone.” (09/02/26)
- Social Media and Anti-Social Pluralism
Source: Aaron Ross Powell
by Aaron Ross Powell“Every day it seems we have some version of The Discourse About Social Media Community Values, Norms, and Tone. I see it on Bluesky now and mostly because that’s where I spend my time, but versions of it persist and recur, and reflect prior recurrences, on every platform and as far back as there have been social media platforms. The idea is that everyone, mashed together into a single feed (or a single global village or town square, or clustered around a single watercooler) has things to say about ‘What kind of place this should be.’ As if it can be one place. As if it should.” (09/02/26)
- Chaos in Elections Is the Goal of the USPS Election Mail Rule
Source: Exiled Policy
by Jason Pye“With the first ballots for the 2026 midterm election set to be mailed out this week, it seems we’re diving back into the sheer havoc the Trump administration is trying to wreak as voters decide who will control the House and the Senate in the 120th Congress. North Carolina election officials are scheduled to begin mailing absentee ballots to voters who requested them on Friday. Ordinarily, that would be a routine milestone in the election calendar. This year, it comes as the Trump administration is trying to force states to overhaul how they distribute mail ballots, only two months before Election Day. … The danger isn’t limited to administrative inconvenience or additional costs. If a state failed to comply, USPS could refuse to deliver ballots to voters who have a right to receive them under state law.” (09/02/26)
https://exiledpolicy.substack.com/p/chaos-in-elections-is-the-goal-of
- Another Monopoly Allowed to Stand
Source: The American Prospect
by David Dayen“Google has been found liable for monopolization by federal judges twice now. Both times, however, the judges have allowed the company’s monopoly to remain intact. The rather dire message this sends to would-be monopolists is that their business model will be protected even if they are found to have broken the law. It’s an ominous development as the tech industry seeks to shift its dominance into artificial intelligence, even as enforcers find more ways that platforms are abusing their power. We don’t yet know everything about the latest ruling because it will be under seal for a couple of weeks. But we know the important thing: Google will be allowed to continue to run all sides of the advertising technology stack, including the ‘sell side’ where advertisers make bids, the ‘buy side’ where publishers offer inventory on their websites, and the ‘ad exchange’ where both sides come together in real-time auctions.” (09/03/26)
https://prospect.org/2026/09/03/another-monopoly-allowed-stand-google-adtech/
- A Clownish Doctor
Source: Pierre Lemieux
by Pierre Lemieux“The organicist fable of Menenius Agrippa is not the ne plus ultra of social thinking.” (09/02/26)
- Texas’s Efforts to Deny That Islam Is Even a Religion Will Jeopardize All Faiths
Source: The UnPopulist
by Asma Uddin“The Texas campaign is not simply discrimination against Muslims; more fundamentally, it is a demonstration of a mechanism that, once normalized, threatens the religious liberty of every American. Put simply: Once Texan officials or any other anti-Muslim agitator hands government a power liberal constitutionalism was built to deny—the power to decide which religion counts as ‘religion’—that power can be used against Christianity, Judaism, or any other religion.” (09/02/26)
https://www.theunpopulist.net/p/texas-efforts-to-deny-that-islam
- Tyranny by Technicality: The Supreme Court Will Not Save Our Republic
Source: Rutherford Institute
by John & Nisha Whitehead“For years, we have been warning that the U.S. Supreme Court would not save us from the American police state. That warning has not grown less urgent. It has simply become more complicated. The danger today is not merely that courts will favor order and procedure over freedom. It is that by the time justice makes an appearance, it will arrive so narrowly, so procedurally and so late that the government will already have prevailed. …The building is already gone. The troops are already deployed. The surveillance system is already operating. The people are already detained. The agency is already dismantled. The data is already collected. The war is already underway. And whatever constitutional principle eventually emerges from the litigation arrives too late to undo the damage.” (09/02/26)
- The Definition of Insanity
Source: Antiwar.com
by Ron Paul“Albert Einstein is credited with saying, ‘the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.’ Whether he actually said it or not, the definition stands. This definition also very well describes the Trump Administration’s war with Iran. According to media reports, President Trump was cajoled by Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu that this would be an ‘easy war,’ like Venezuela. Just assassinate the Iranian leadership, he promised, and the regime change would bring in a pro-America regime in Iran. The CIA disagreed with the assessment, but Trump went with Netanyahu and the rest is history.” (09/02/26)
https://original.antiwar.com/paul/2026/09/01/the-definition-of-insanity/
- Services can be provided sans government
Source: Eastern New Mexico News
by Kent McManigal“I don’t want or need to be governed, but I still want a few of the things people claim government does or provides. The difference is, I want these things provided voluntarily, without taxation or other forms of coercion. If something isn’t essential enough for people to chip in and fund, it needs to go away. Forever, or until enough people decide to pay for it without being forced.” (09/02/26)
- Private Property: For Abundance and Diversity
Source: Liberalism.org
by Ilya Somin“Property rights were central to the origins of the liberal political tradition. And, in our time especially, they should be central once again. In addition to their inherent value as a vital element of liberty and autonomy, bolstering them is essential to uplifting the poor and disadvantaged and boosting prosperity and innovation. The right to private property can also help protect a variety of other important rights.” (09/02/26)
https://www.liberalism.org/p/private-property-for-abundance-and-diversity
- Our ancient faith in liberty
Source: Expression
by David Josef Volodzko“In the summer of 1798, Congress gave the president the power to expel any foreigner he personally judged dangerous. Though the president never used the Alien Friends Act, and it expired two years later, it had its intended result. French printers, teachers, and booksellers sold their belongings and took ship out of Philadelphia, rather than wait to find out if the president had them in mind. Thomas Jefferson later argued that to put such power in the hands of one person is the very definition of despotism. Last Friday, a federal court in California reminded us of this in Stanford Daily v. Rubio, in which Judge Noël Wise held the government cannot deport people for their opinions.” (09/02/26)
- AI Oligarchs Poisoning Our Society
Source: Caitlin Johnstone
by Caitlin Johnstone“In a recent interview with Time Magazine, [Sam] Altman said he knows most people hate the technology that he and his fellow tech plutocrats are imposing upon our civilization. ‘Clearly, people hate data centers — right now, at least. People are pretty negative on AI,’ Altman said. Indeed, a recent survey conducted by CNBC‘s Generation Labs found that the public is very negative on AI in general and on its CEOs in particular. … They know we hate them and what they’re doing to us as a society. And yet they’re doing it anyway. They’re going to keep pushing this technology on us which is stealing our jobs, plunging our society further and further into a tech surveillance dystopia patrolled by militarized drones and police robots, and turning everyone into stupid, artless emotional infants who can’t do anything for ourselves.” (09/02/26)
- The expiry date welfare needs
Source: Adam Smith Institute
by Madsen Pirie“Rome gave out free grain to its citizens. It began as emergency relief in a time of shortage. It ended as a permanent entitlement, defended by riot whenever a consul tried to touch it. By the late Republic nobody could remember why it existed. It simply had to continue, because it always had. Britain’s welfare state has followed the same arc. It began, in the years after the war, as a safety net for genuine hardship. It has become, for a growing number of claimants, a permanent address. … There is a different principle available, and it has been tested abroad for long enough now to draw conclusions. Help should be temporary by design. Not grudging, not punitive, but genuinely time-limited, aimed at restoring independence rather than administering it away.” (09/02/26)
https://www.adamsmith.org/blog/the-expiry-date-welfare-needs
- Reflections on Americans’ Net Worth
Source: Bet On It
by Bryan Caplan“I’ve been an economics professor for almost 30 years, but I don’t think I’ve ever before seen anything like the table below. I knew that claims that ‘58% of Americans can’t afford a $1,000 car repair’ were laughable clickbait. I knew that — measured by income — the middle class is disappearing… by becoming upper-middle class. But only recently did I start to fully appreciate the chasm between populist pessimism and actual data on Americans’ net worth.” (09/02/26)
- The People’s Arms Embargo
Source: Foreign Policy In Focus
by Macela Carmo Dos Santos“For nearly three years, foreign ministries in Washington, London, and Brussels have debated arms embargoes on Israel in committee rooms, largely without result. Meanwhile, a much less formal network of ordinary people has been trying to accomplish the same goal from the ground up—one factory gate, one shareholder register, and one pension fund at a time. Palestine Action, the direct-action network founded in the UK in 2020 by Huda Ammori and Richard Barnard, is built on a simple theory of change: If governments won’t stop arming Israel, activists will go after the companies that do it for them.” (09/02/26)
https://fpif.org/trying-to-choke-off-the-weapons-behind-gaza/
- Maddened in Michigan
Source: Common Sense
by Paul Jacob“‘It’s not every day that Michigan’s bureaucracy violates state and federal law while disenfranchising more than 700,000 Michigan voters,’ opens the legal brief filed in the Michigan Supreme Court last Thursday by Americans for Citizen Voting – Michigan. ‘But that’s exactly what happened [last] week.’ The group (which I chair) has worked for the last year to place the Citizen Only Voting Amendment on Michigan’s November ballot. It makes two basic reforms: requires the Secretary of State to check the voter rolls, identifying and removing noncitizens in a fair process, and requires photo identification to cast a ballot.” (09/02/26)
https://thisiscommonsense.org/2026/09/02/maddened-in-michigan/
- America Wins in Venezuela While China and Canada Lose
Source: Town Hall
by EJ Antoni, Ph.D.“In a January Townhall column, I argued that the Venezuela operation was a win for America and a loss for China and Canada. Friday’s announcement from the Trump administration of an oil deal with Venezuela confirms that assessment. The agreement gives the U.S. a majority control of more than 65 billion barrels of proven reserves through a joint venture built around 17 strategic fields, with an initial production target north of 1.5 million barrels per day over a 25-year framework. On paper, it creates the second-largest private holder of proven reserves on the planet, behind only Saudi Aramco. But Americans need to be realistic about their expectations: this won’t translate into lower gasoline or diesel prices anytime soon.” (09/02/26)
- The Root Causes of the Wars in Iran and Ukraine
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Jacob G Hornberger“If we are ever to get our country back on the right track, it is imperative that we never forget that the U.S. national-security state and its foreign policy of interventionism are responsible for the wars in Ukraine and Iran. Let’s start with Iran. It’s obviously tempting to simply blame President Trump for launching his undeclared war of aggression against Iran. But the root cause of what has become a tar baby for Trump goes back a lot further — to the CIA’s coup in Iran in 1953 — a coup that destroyed Iran’s experiment with democracy.” (09/02/26)
https://www.fff.org/2026/09/02/the-root-causes-of-the-wars-in-iran-and-ukraine/
- Why are so many Vance allies leaving the administration?
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Connor Echols & Kelley Beaucar Vlahos“Army Secretary Dan Driscoll resigned this week, raising a flurry of questions about whether his departure is part of a larger political reordering that has pushed skeptics of President Donald Trump’s war policies to the margins. A long-time friend of Vice President JD Vance, Driscoll drew widespread praise for his efforts to modernize the Army. But he has clashed with Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth …. Driscoll’s departure is the latest in a string of recent high-profile exits by Vance’s allies and ideological fellow travelers, including Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, Deputy National Security Adviser Andy Baker, White House Director of Legislative Affairs James Braid, and Director of the National Counterterrorism Center Joe Kent.” (09/02/26)
- The Twin Tragedies of the Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace
Source: Common Dreams
by Connie Peck“Established by Congress in 1984, with legislation signed by Ronald Reagan and funded annually by Congress, the United States Institute of Peace, or USIP, was a well-respected, authoritative, independent, officially nonpartisan, nonprofit organization, until it was eviscerated by President Donald Trump early last year. Its purpose was to promote conflict prevention and resolution worldwide and to provide analysis, research, and training in diplomacy, mediation, and peace-related activities. … Although the institute’s extremely useful database was wantonly destroyed, one can see the breadth and depth of its important work by sampling some of its publications here.” (09/02/26)
https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/tragedies-donald-trump-peace
- Faucism and the Tyranny of Prevailing Opinion
Source: Mindset Shifts
by Barry Brownstein“The foundation of a free society and a fully human life rests on our commitment to the independent use of conscience.” (09/02/26)
https://mindsetshifts.substack.com/p/faucism-and-the-tyranny-of-prevailing
- Edith Sampson vs. the Illusions of Communism
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Lawrence W Reed“As the Kremlin sought to portray American democracy as hypocritical and the Soviet Union as a more promising future for mankind, its propagandists made much of racial injustice in the United States, while exploiting internal tensions throughout the West to stir dissent. In response, the US sought out a level-headed Black American who could challenge Paul Robeson’s claims and speak on the dangers of communism. Edith Sampson became that emerging voice during the World Town Hall in 1949, where she earned headlines for publicly denouncing Soviet propaganda about America. Sampson, at the time, was a prominent leader in the National Council of Negro Women while serving as assistant state’s attorney in Cook County, Illinois.” (09/02/26)
https://fee.org/articles/edith-sampson-vs-the-illusions-of-communism/
- The Blessings of Liberty with Jeffrey Rosen, 09/03/26
Source: The Blessings of Liberty with Jeffrey Rosen
“What Can the Presidents and First Ladies Teach Us About the American Idea?” (09/03/26)
https://rosenjeffrey.substack.com/p/what-can-the-presidents-and-first
- Half the Answer, episode 101
Source: Liberal Currents
“Donald Trump’s unprovoked trade war with Canada and his chaotic attacks on Iran have him hemorrhaging support in states he won in 2024. Why doesn’t he seem to care? What is he thinking? We can’t read minds, but we can talk to Greg Sargent from the New Republic about Trump’s statements, posts, and actions over the last month or so.” (09/03/26)
- Interviews by Claire Lehmann, 09/02/26
Source: Quillette
“Sydney psychiatrist Tanveer Ahmed on why men who quit work aren’t depressed but demoralised, and how mental health labels became a rival source of status and dignity.” (09/02/26)
https://quillette.com/2026/09/03/why-so-many-young-men-are-giving-up-on-work/
- Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 09/02/26
Source: Antiwar.com
“Katz: Ethnic Cleansing the Only ‘Real Solution’ for Gaza, Iran Says US Strikes Killed 18, and More.” (09/02/26)
- The Chris Hedges Report, 09/02/26
Source: The Chris Hedges Report
“Fighting Big Money in Politics (w/ Karishma Manzur).” (09/02/26)
https://chrishedges.substack.com/p/fighting-big-money-in-politics-w
- TAC Right Now, 09/02/26
Source: The American Conservative
“Andrew Day and Luke Nicastro talk to Connor Echols of Responsible Statecraft about Dan Driscoll’s resignation as Army secretary, Vice President J.D. Vance’s controversial speech to an Israel lobby group, whether the Iran War is becoming a Forever War, and Israel’s sponsoring ads on the podcast of Sen. Ted Cruz.” (09/02/26)
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/j-d-vances-perplexing-moves-w-connor-echols/
- Andrew Day on The Kyle Anzalone Show
Source: Libertarian Institute
“Trump’s New Iran Strategy and Warning to Putin.” (09/02/26)
- LPA Solidarity Stream, episode 21
Source: LP Alliance
“David Beito, Phil Saunders, and their proposal for thinking outside the one-or-two-state paradigm.” (09/02/26)
- Kibbe on Liberty, episode 402
Source: Free the People
“Old Media’s Days Are Numbered | Guest: Bobby Sauce.” (09/02/26)
- Hard Lens Media, 09/02/26
Source: Hard Lens Media
“THOMAS MASSIE NAMES 14 Epstein Co-Conspirators On The House Floor — And Demands They Be Prosecuted.” (09/02/26)
- Rising, 09/02/26
Source: The Hill
“James Talarico links capitalism to white supremacy, says oil ‘not gonna last.'” (09/02/26)
- The David Frum Show, 09/02/26
Source: The Atlantic
“How Trump Lost Asia.” (09/02/26)
- Ron Paul Liberty Report, 09/02/26
Source: Ron Paul Liberty Report
“Why Did The U.S. Attack A ‘Failed State’ With ‘No Military’ That Already ‘Lost?'” (09/02/26)
- The Science of Politics, 07/02/26
Source: Niskanen Center
“Why neither party is fiscally responsible.” (09/02/26)
https://www.niskanencenter.org/why-neither-party-is-fiscally-responsible/
- Politico Playbook Audio Briefing, 09/02/26
Source: Politico
“Trump’s data center defense.” (09/02/26)
- The Briefing Podcast with Michael Waldman, 09/02/26
Source: Brennan Center for Justice
“The Battle for American Identity (with Ben Rhodes).” (09/02/26)
- Reasonably Optimistic, 09/02/26
Source: Washington Post
“The myths fueling America’s AI data center backlash.” (09/02/26)
- Reason Interview: Stephanie Slade
Source: Reason
“Why the Right Is Embracing State Power.” (09/02/26)
https://reason.com/podcast/2026/09/02/why-the-right-is-embracing-state-power/
- The Remnant with Jonah Goldberg
Source: The Dispatch
“Does Trump Understand Tariffs? | Interview: Anthony Scaramucci.” (09/01/26)
https://thedispatch.com/podcast/remnant/does-trump-understand-tariffs-interview-anthony-scaramucci/
- Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 09/01/26
Source: Antiwar.com
“US Launches Airstrikes Across Iran’s Southern Coast, Israel Conducts Ground Raid in Gaza, and More.” (09/01/26)